Anglican Aid: The Difference a Community Makes
How can you make a real difference to Christians in poverty across the world as the Bible encourages you to (James 2:15-17)? Well, one way is by supporting Anglican Aid.
Anglican Aid is the overseas aid, development, and ministry support agency of Sydney Anglicans. This is one of our organisations and they have more than 140 projects in 30 countries including some of the poorest in the world, countries that the Government says are too dangerous for ordinary Australians to travel to including Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo), Burundi, Madagascar, Mozambique, Lebanon, Malawi, Pakistan and South Sudan. But there are churches in those countries. And there are people in extraordinary need in those countries. And the reality is that no one church alone can make a real difference in those countries. But together as Sydney Anglicans an enormous difference is being made in countries all over the world through our Anglican Aid.
Just this year, their work has been remarkable. Water tanks are now supplying churches in drought-hit northern Kenya. School shoes are being provided for children in South Africa. 424 people with disabilities in India received devices to help improve their livelihood. Burundian farmers in a church-run program grew their crop yields by a median of 371%. Almost 5,200 victims of war in DR Congo were given food and emergency supplies. And in the middle of all that hardship, in Goma (DR Congo), the foundation stone was laid this year for a new Bible college, because God's people there keep making disciples anyway. In fact, Anglican Aid helped 794 student pastors across 38 Bible colleges in 22 countries get training.
No single parish, not even ours, could lay a foundation stone in a war zone, or fund a law school training South Sudan's next Christian judges, or answer floods and conflict across seven countries in a year with rapid agility. But the whole family of Sydney Anglican churches, giving together through Anglican Aid, did precisely that. We talk here about wanting to build wholehearted disciples of Jesus. Through Anglican Aid, we can be part of that same work in Kenya, Mozambique, South Sudan, Burundi and 26 other impoverished countries. The global church is able to do what no single church can do alone.
So can I ask two things of you?
First, pray! Anglican Aid has a Prayer Diary and a daily prayer link to PrayerMate. Jump on board. There are so many things you can pray for. Check out their annual report here to see news of all the projects and items for prayer.
Second, direct some of your charitable giving to Anglican Aid. Head to anglicanaid.org.au and become a partner. Why not join Grace Collective, Anglican Aid’s community of regular donors who are passionate about seeing God’s grace overflow to a world in need.
The difference a Christian community can make is not just temporal, it’s also eternal.
